The highly skilled professional who performs ultrasound examinations in a clinical facility is known as a sonographer, ultrasonographer, or ultrasound technologist. There are various specialties within the field that include the abdomen, obstetrics and gynecology, vascular, and echocardiography. The sonographer is a key member of the health care team that provides individualized care to a variety of patients utilizing highly technical instrumentation to create and interpret images of the internal organs, tissues, and blood flow. You can find information about ultrasound technician schools in Grover below.

Get Your Degree!

Ultrasound Technician: What You’ll Do

Ultrasound technicians, also known as diagnostic medical sonographers, are responsible for operating equipment that produce and record images or conduct tests. These images are then used by physicians to make a diagnosis.

Most people are familiar with the role of an ultrasound technician as it relates to pregnancy, but sonograms are also used to examine breast tissue, brain and spinal cord and muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints and organs in the abdominal cavity.

Like other allied health careers, specialization is a possibility with sonography. Cardiac sonographers produce imaging of a patient’s heart, heart chambers, valves and vessels. A vascular sonographer is similar to a cardiac sonographer, but they focus primarily on blood vessels and blood flow.

An ultrasound technician’s job requires more than just producing an image. You’ll interact with patients by preparing them for the procedure. You’ll also need a keen eye; ultrasound technicians must be able to recognize normal and abnormal images. Analyzing diagnostic information and providing it to the physician is a regular job task.

Ultrasound technicians work primarily in hospitals, physician’s offices and laboratories, but before you can get there, you’ll need to earn an ultrasound technician education.

What are the Different Job Titles?

A sonographer is the same thing as an ultrasound tech. There is no difference. In fact, depending on their place of employment and special area of practice, they can also have job titles such as:

Diagnostic medical sonographer

Ultrasound technologist

Ultrasound technician

Ultrasonographer

Diagnostic cardiac sonographer

Cardiac sonographer

Echocardiographic technician

Vascular sonographer

What are the Requirements to Become Ultrasound Tech I Should Know About in Grover

The requirements you should be aware of before pursuing a career in sonography are fairly straightforward. Here are the most important points to keep in mind about the credentials you’ll need:

Ultrasound Technician School in Grover

A formal post-secondary education is generally required.

Most technologists possess associate’s degrees from the successful completion of a diagnostic medical sonography program. (You should note that diagnostic cardiac sonography and vascular sonography programs are usually separate.)

It is also possible to earn a bachelor’s degree in this field. In addition, certificate and diploma programs also exist, but they are usually meant for people who already possess a degree in a related healthcare field.

Certification and Licensing

Employers in this field generally prefer to hire people with professional certification.

Some states require licensure. This usually requires professional certification, but requirements vary from state to state.

Becoming Professionally Certified in Grover
Here is what you should know about professional certification:Know the Organizations

If you choose to become certified through the ARDMS, you will get to choose one or more sub-specialties to be tested on. As an RDMS, for example, you can be certified in one or more of the following areas: Abdomen (AB), Breast (BR), Fetal Echocardiography (FE), Neurosonology (NE), or Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN).

Pass the Exams and Stay Certified

In order to become certified, you must meet a few basic prerequisite requirements (such as having a relevant degree), and then you’ll need to pass one or more exams.

How do I Choose an Ultrasound Technician Program in Grover?

Accreditation – The accrediting body for medical sonography programs is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health/Education Programs (CAAHEP). The CAAHEP has accredited 150 programs, including those offered by colleges and universities, as well as some hospital training programs. Though attending an accredited program is not the only way to become a medical sonographer in Grover, it does automatically qualify graduates to sit for the certifying exam and is universally recognized by employers.

Admissions Requirements – Make sure to research the admissions requirements of programs that interest you. Vocational, associate and bachelor’s programs may specific courses in math, health, and/or sciences.

Career Goals/ Specialization – Because specialization is so common in sonography, be sure that your program of choice offers your desired specialty. Vascular and cardiac sonography are two particularly specialized programs that not all schools offer.

Curriculum – Look over the program curriculum and make sure that yours provides plenty of hands-on experience. Because sonography is a very hands-on, technical profession, this might be the most important part of your education.

Job Outlook

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), jobs for diagnostic medical sonographers, which include ultrasound technicians, are projected to increase by 41% between 2012 and 2022 (www.bls.gov) in Grover. This growth is attributed to the fact that health care providers prefer ultrasound imaging as a safer alternative to radiology. The BLS also noted that the median annual wage for diagnostic medical sonographers was $65,348 in Dec 2011.